Semiconductor packages have been proposed that include semiconductor elements sandwiched between a pair of metal bodies and sealed with a mold resin. The metal bodies function as electrodes and as heat transfer members for the semiconductor elements. (See. e.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. 3596388, U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0089941, U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0089940, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,998,707, 6,992,383, 6,967,404, and 6,960,825.)
In such a semiconductor package, external surfaces of the metal bodies (i.e., surfaces opposite to surfaces facing the semiconductor elements) are exposed from the mold resin to thereby enable heat transfer therefrom. Also, a connecting terminal exposed from the mold resin on one of the metal bodies is provided for electrically connecting to an external component.
An inverter device or another device be constructed using a plurality of these semiconductor packages. The semiconductor packages are electrically connected through the respective connecting terminals using a bus bar.
However, inductance may increase due to the use of the bus bar, which is undesirable. The inductance may cause a relatively large surge voltage, and accordingly the surge voltage may increase a load to semiconductor elements in the semiconductor package.